Chapter 87: Fate Pattern: A Load of Grain

Behind one side of the cliff lay a massive pit.

Inside the pit lay piles of white bones, dozens of ancient ghosts hiding among them.

A group of people stood by the pit's edge, their leader none other than Lord Qin.

But apart from Lord Qin, including Ceng Si, all were rigid with pale faces, their eyes filled only with terror.

Not only because of the ancient ghosts in the ten-thousand-dead pit, but also because beside Lord Qin stood an ancient locust!

The ancient locust chuckled strangely: "We've done what we must. Now it's your turn. If your hands aren't stained with the Blood Purification Office's blood, I dare not take you to Guanghuo Street."

Lord Qin nodded and descended the mountain first: "Get to work."

Ceng Si and the others hurried to follow.

Their cart carried one hundred living people.

They had been "delivered" last night while Ceng Si and the others remained oblivious.

Lord Qin cursed Qiao Ziaang in his heart as "despicable"—he'd entrusted this task to him for years, yet Qiao kept complaining to superiors, extracting countless favors, yet made no progress whatsoever.

When Lord Qin arrived, the one hundred living people served as a gift, and he easily reached an agreement with the "Ghost Temple Statue," who then introduced them to the Locust Witch upon entering the mountain.

From the very beginning, Qiao Ziaang never intended to complete the task.

If he succeeded, he'd lose his value and could no longer dominate Qihetai with absolute authority.

Previously, superiors had sent two batches of officials to Shanhé County to pressure Qiao Ziaang, but after being bribed with so many favors, they all returned and defended him.

Now, the Locust Witch demands Lord Qin's letter of allegiance.

What follows is a matter that will shake heaven itself! Unless they kill a group of Blood Purification Office personnel, they will not trust us.

…

Not only was the Captain panicked, but Yan Lao and the others also didn't know what to do.

Xu Yuan frowned, pondered for a long while, then said: "Withdraw from the mountain first—something's wrong in here today!"

"Withdraw already?" Lu Zhengyan felt reluctant.

To leave the mountain right after entering, without capturing the ancient locust or meeting the old mountain-runner of Wangxiang Village, was truly demoralizing.

Xu Yuan's brow remained tightly knotted: "I feel we've been marked by the mountain's evil spirits! Pushing deeper is too risky."

"Withdraw first. Figure out what's happened before deciding our next move."

Yan Lao and Lu Zhengyan both turned to Fu Jingyu; the Young Master nodded: "A prudent move. Withdraw."

The team began retreating, and the Captain blurted out: "I'll take the center—protect me!"

Yan Lao glared at him, feeling it shamed the Blood Purification Office.

Xu Yuan considered briefly, then whispered to Fu Jingyu: "Stay beside him. If anything happens, strike immediately—never hesitate!"

"This is Ghost Wushan—not the outside world. If you hold back to preserve your strength, you may never get another chance."

Fu Jingyu nodded silently, then gave Yan Lao a glance; Yan Lao stepped forward and walked beside him.

Fu Jingyu lacked the skill to lift the Doghead Guillotine alone.

Lu Zhengyan walked at the front of the column; Xu Yuan blended into the ranks, watching the surroundings warily.

Soon after they moved, a chilling wind surged through the pass, filled with wails of ghosts and howls of wolves; darkness instantly swallowed the surroundings.

"Here they come!"

Xu Yuan looked up and saw dozens of massive ghostly shadows, their bodies elongated and coiled, blue-faced, fanged, red-eyed, all lunging toward the Captain in the center.

The five-thousand-silver-note, the stack of ghost money—all the ancient ghosts had invested.

"The debtor must pay with his life!"

The hissing ghostly voices pierced the ears; the Captain's eyes instantly glazed over, and he stood frozen, awaiting the ghosts to claim his life.

Fu Jingyu roared, raised his hand, and tore off a "Hidden" talisman: Sssss—

The Doghead Guillotine, wreathed in Jin Guang, appeared beside him.

Fu Jingyu and Yan Lao moved in perfect sync, standing on either side of the blade, one hand left, one right, gripping the handles and heaving upward together.

Crik!

A blinding blade of light flashed—dozens of ancient ghosts suddenly felt their insubstantial forms bound by invisible chains from the Underworld's ghost officers, dragged toward the guillotine's blade.

Yet this force, they were born unable to resist.

Fu Jingyu had once lifted the Doghead Guillotine alone—but that was through sheer will, surpassing his own limits.

Even then, he hadn't possessed the strength to bring the blade down.

Now, with two of them working together, Fu Jingyu still felt the strain.

With his other hand, he pinched a paper figure, muttered a incantation, and flicked it—the paper ignited without fire, and a beam of golden light descended upon him.

Fu Jingyu's body hardened like iron, surging with boundless power!

This was the Ascension of the Huangjin Lishi—he cultivated the orthodox Maoshan "Daoist Art."

The ancient ghosts shrieked in terror, resisting the Doghead Guillotine's power; ghostly energy surged wildly, the wind howled, sand and stones flew, blinding all who watched.

At some point, Xu Yuan had again donned his red-wood-and-brass earpieces, no longer relying on sight, listening only for unnatural sounds in the wind.

Suddenly, Xu Yuan heard a familiar flight sound—like… the Bone-Faced Eagle!

Xu Yuan instantly raised his Three-Eyed Firearm toward that direction; a massive black shadow burst into the wind—he fired without hesitation.

Boom!

The bullet struck the shadow at speeds invisible to the eye—but *clang! *—it ricocheted away somewhere.

The massive shadow seemed to have folded its wings, blocking the bullet.

"Aaah!" Beneath the shadow, a Captain screamed.

A steel spike had pierced his skull.

Five or six streams of blood gushed rapidly from the wound, then—*chss! *—the spike retracted.

The slain Captain crashed to the ground with a thud.

Xu Yuan finally saw clearly: that huge shadow actually possessed a pair of forged-iron wings.

And that iron spike was, in fact, his tail.

But he was indeed a human; Xu Yuan's "Fate Gaze" clearly saw that his fate pattern was a vivid orange: One Load of Grain.

This life brings wealth and rank, but that wealth and rank are limited.

His fate pattern weighs heavy, yet neither high nor low.

After killing the Captain, this man retracted his iron wings, which began to split apart and reassemble behind him with a clanging sound.

In the blink of an eye, they transformed into eight massive crafted spider legs!

That iron spike became one of the spider legs.

Supported by the spider legs, this man grew to a height of one zhang, his entire body covered in armor; like a giant monster, he spun in place and began to wreak havoc, screams ringing out continuously as one by one the Purification Bureau Captains fell beneath his hands!

At the same time, Ceng Si also arrived with his men; Lord Qin charged into the Purification Bureau ranks, exploding from within, while Ceng Si and his men surrounded and killed from the outside; in an instant, more than a dozen Purification Bureau members fell!

Lu Zhengyan's eyes bulged with rage, yet he dared not leave Elder Yan and Fu Jingyu's side.

Xu Yuan sighed inwardly; this man's fate pattern is heavy, very suitable for becoming an Artificer Cultivator.

A Longzhu Waidan flew out, shattering with a snap before Xu Yuan's eyes; the small carriage given by his stepmother crashed down with a boom, and Xu Yuan dove inside, immediately activating the Fu Zhong Huo!

Boom!

Rolling flames ignited on the wheels, and the carriage rushed straight toward Lord Qin.

Lord Qin's eyes showed a hint of appreciation: I wonder which junior's work this is; it does display quite a bit of clever thought.

One spider leg lifted up, blocking the charging war chariot.

Unexpectedly, in the next moment with a crack, the spider leg was directly smashed off!

While Lord Qin was stunned, he had no time to make any other response; he clumsily sidestepped, his massive body nearly toppling over.

Even so, the war chariot still brushed past him; he clumsily spun several times before finally stabilizing his stance.

Meanwhile, Xu Yuan had already maneuvered the war chariot, grinding out two curved flame tracks on the ground, then turned and rammed forward again.

Lord Qin, furious with shame, thought: I should not have any affection for talent; I shall give him a lesson!

Xu Yuan hid inside the war chariot and quietly extended the Three-Eyed Firearm outward.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Two shots fired in succession.

The bullets headed straight for Lord Qin's eyes.

Lord Qin was just extending a pair of spider legs diagonally downward, preparing to flip the carriage directly; he did not expect two clangs as the bullets struck his helmet, shocking a cold sweat all over his body!

The spider leg's movement slowed by a beat; Xu Yuan maneuvered the war chariot, suddenly changing direction, and slammed hard into one of his spider legs.

Creak!

The war chariot rolled over, bending the spider leg.

Inside the carriage, Xu Yuan thought it a pity; the accuracy of the Three-Eyed Firearm was still somewhat lacking.

This was still an Artificer Cultivator's creation; if it were an ordinary firearm, the inaccuracy would be even more outrageous.

I have heard that in the Northern Capital's Divine Mechanism Grand Camp, the new-style matchlock muskets are the most accurate.

Having suffered losses twice, Lord Qin pursued furiously, raised a spider leg, and swept horizontally, striking the war chariot.

With a clang, he swept the carriage down; Lord Qin then chased after it, raising a spider leg like a massive pickaxe, and hammered down heavily.

Puff!

The powerful spider leg pierced through the carriage body, heading straight for Xu Yuan's face!

Early morning release, a massive explosion!

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(End of this chapter)